SECTION IV FOOTBALL: NEWARK VALLEY HOPING TO REBOUND (14 PHOTOS) (2019-08-19)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — After two state playoff appearances, including a state championship in 2016, Newark Valley suffered a late-season let down in 2018.

The Cardinals dropped their final four games, ending the season with a 5-4 record. The slide started with an ugly one-sided loss to eventual Class C state champion Susquehanna Valley. Next came a heartbreaking 10-7 setback against Oneonta, 53-46 loss at Sidney and then Section IV Class C playoff elimination at the hands of Waverly, 20-5.

With the exception of 62-0 loss to Sus Valley, the Cardinals could have won the other three. A last-second field goal created the loss to Oneonta. Against Sidney, NV rallied from a 13-point deficit to take a one-point lead — four times — but couldn't put the Warriors (unbeaten at the time) away. Then came the loss to Waverly as the Wolverines scored two touchdowns in the game's final 1:02.

"We got it taken to us a little bit by Sus Valley, but all the other ones were one-score games we came out on the wrong side of, so obviously the motivation is to make sure that doesn't happen," head coach Ted Hardenstine said. "You've got to come out on the right side of those winnable games, so I think that's the mindset. We have some guys who have worked hard all summer long that are excited to do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen again."

With the end to the 2018 season in the backs of their minds, the Cardinals enter this season with hopes of a rebound.

"This time of year it's always very, very high," Hardenstine said of the level of enthusiasm. "Everybody's excited. All the coaches are excited just to get started, best time of the year."

There will be a few key positions to fill. Quarterback Kyle Coffin is gone and he was a two-time all-state pick as a kicker last year and kicker / punter in 2017. 

Then there's two-way lineman Trentyn Rupert, a two-time all-state selection who wasn't named to an all-state team in 2018 due to a season hampered by injuries sustained in a car crash. Also gone are linemen Trevor Gerdus, a two-time all-state choice, and all-state pick Kyle Pratt.

Caden Bennett, an all-state selection last year, does return and should lead a backfield that could include returnees Raidyn Ford and Anthony Obregon, with Josh Post or Mikey Wandell under center. 

Tight end / defensive lineman Jake Armstrong, who along with Rupert, Gerdus, Pratt, Coffin and Bennett was a Section IV Division IV all-star, is back as well.

The line will probably be noticeably smaller with the loss of Rupert, Pratt and Gerdus — all of whom tipped the scales at well over 200.

Don't be surprised if NV trades in some size for speed this fall. Whichever way it goes, the Cardinals have several players looking to fill the vacancies.

"When you look at professional football, it ends up being more of a thing of OK, how are we going to replace this guy, but when you get into college and high school it's kind of a constant cycle," Hardenstine said. "It's kind of a process of every year of who's going to step up? Part of the reason you get so excited every year is you have a new group of kids and you're going to see who's going to rise to fill those voids.

"I think that our young kids always look forward to that challenge and us as coaches look forward to the excitement of whose it going to be? Who are the kids that are going to rise to the occasion? You kind of see it over the summer with who's putting the time in, but there's always that one or two that show up and they've grown a little bit and they surprise you and that's always a lot of fun too."

The section has brought home state titles in Class C five of the past six years, with NV falling to eventual champion Skaneateles, 42-41, in the 2017 quarterfinals.

"Whoever wins Class C in Section IV should be pretty well battled-tested out of section," Hardenstine said. "I think it's great. Any time that you can have good competition throughout the year, it makes you better as a team to challenge."

NV opens the season Sept. 7 at home against Windsor.<br><br>——————<br><br>PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR